t cities nationwide. tomorrow on the show debbie mazer is here. and later this week, fran the world has changed and the economic situation is different. >> i will violate the pledge long story short for the good of

the country, only if democrats will -- [ technical difficulties ]

>> listen to what joe is saying the bargaining strength. out sort of makes me want to ask this for you eleanor, why does he even have to bargain? is there any -- you know feeling in washington right now that d listen, hey, the president won.

he won a plurality of

[ technical difficulties ] >> three dozen say republicans, and that would be a deal weighted -- >> the grand bargain was on the table. the president was apparently willing to do it earlier this year. [ technical difficulties ] >> and now it's -- now he has -- [ technical difficulties ] >> enough tax revenue, then i think he's willing, willing to deal. i suspect he is going to do something that his base isn't going to ben tirely happy with. but that's

[ technical difficulties ] >> over the qualifying aids for social security or qualifications for medicaid or anything like that. i think it is probably going to be in the waste department abuse category. and not any kind of sweeping reform.

[ technical difficulties ] >> let's be clear. the rule change being proposed not s not an affront to me or the republican party. it's an affront to the american [ technical difficulties ] >> so he doesn't have to be on board. but look, they are not talking about stripping the minority of the right to filibuster.

they are talking about instead of saying, oh i'm going to filibuster, that you actually have to stand up and filibuster. that people would have to take the floor and read the phone book. i don't see anything wrong with that. there are a couple of proposals out there, nothing that significantly reduces the power of the filibuster but harry reid has experienced 385 filibusters during his time. it is over -- overused and abused, so i think mcconnell better get over it. >> yeah, it seems like he is going to have to. he seems like he is resigned to be in the minority for a very very long time. we almost got through without mentioning mr. smith goes to washington, but i just blew it sorry. eleanor smith thank you so much.

joe williams you'll stay with us, and we'll have a little bit of fun. coming from, the sports metaphors >>i jump out of my skin at people when i'm upset. >> why do we need a straw poll? i'll take a logical look at the situation. we're just getting started on a monday night. stick around.

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>> you're back inside the war room. i'm michael shureer. john mccain has been leading a republican attack on u.n. ambassador susan rice. they claim rice who might be the next secretary of state purposely misled the american public about the attack in benghazi. that led to four americans including am bass door, dead. he realized that his baseless attacks made him seemed like a crazy old coot. he's agreed to meet rice face-to-face tomorrow in d.c. she will talk to other

detractors. some current cabinet members like timothy geithner said they will soon be leaving. in tonight's political round table, we will draft our fantasy choices for these slots. here to play, joe williams. we've never played before, comes to us from washington d.c. joining me here is christine the chair of the california democratic party women's caucus. we begin with secretary of state. your fantasy choice is samantha powers christine yourself is chuck hagel and mine is james cunningham. why do you pick power? >> if we're doing a fantasy draft, you want somebody that goes hard to the left. we've had enough who go to the right. basically, samantha power has

strong credibility international credibility against genocide, women's rights and middle eastern issues. that's something the administration needs sorely. we've seen a lot of stuff going on in the middle east, especially surrounding the role of women and how women can be developed. she's a very strong anti genocide advocate. that's something a lot of actors in hollywood ben affleck and george clooney have spoken out about but we have not seen a lot of action out of the obama administration. she can bring that to the fore, and get some stuff done. >> i don't know how he's a champion citing ben affleck. [ laughter ] >> minus three points, exactly. talk to me about chuck hagel. >> first we have to start with susan rice. if she can handle the united nations, maybe she can handle the united states states senate.

she does go hard left. that's exactly why the republicans fear her. she is still my first choice. i would pick tim romer or dick lugar. you've got bipartisan ship, somebody a lot of people could work with, including then senator obama who traveled around the world with him talking about nuclear disarmament. i think that is someone the president is comfortable with and the senators will be comfortable with. i think that's very important if we're going to retake the center. if you can't get susan right one of the hoosiers. >> one of the hoosiers wins. every fantasy draft every cabinet fantasy draft is talking about the hoosier twins. i say james cunningham, the ambassador to iraq, was to israel. james cunningham. susan rice, from fantasy to

reality, i say in reality the likely choice will be susan rice for this job. the secretary of defense you had a hoosier in the secretary of defense. i do see duke lugar here. you think that he will cross the aisle, the president will go for a republican secretary of defense? >> he could go for olympia snow, who was on the intelligence committee. you could put snow over at defense. i think john kerry has a strong case to make for defense. putting a republican, it works with bob gates it could work again. >> william cohen too. >> absolutely. >> bob kerry for you joe tell me about bob kerry. he lost in the senate race. they owe him a favor? >> they owe him big time. if indiana is going to be the bread basket of the cabinet members, i say let's go outside that particular box. bob kerry of nebraska, war

veteran, knows what it's like to be in combat, kind of an innovative thinker president of the new school in new york, very creative outside the box kind of guy to the point you don't know exactly what he's going to say. what's not to like about a wacky secretary of defense. he could be somebody who is -- he is a serious ideas guy someone congress can respect because they know him. he served in the congress many decades. he also is very good credibility on military. >> and somebody who could talk credibly about the weapons system that we need and don't need and convince congress to go along with some of these cuts. >> joe makes a very good argument. he's the first term in the history of television to say bread basket of the cabinet.

my choice, because of preparedness, et cetera. i think panetta isn't going to go anywhere anytime soon. very quickly treasury. joe said paul krugman, you said sheila bair. barney frank would be mine, send him back to the political world in a role that's important. would make republicans continuing to see him at treasury. i don't know that he'd get confirmed. on paul krugman? >> was right on a lot of things, and in a role on wall street in the great recession. >> she will give the king to the kingdom, very solid adult during the financial crisis, helped pull back from the brink. she is not used to being in the spot light. that's a good thing.

for certain cabinet members you don't want them on the t.v. circuit so must have. you want them doing the workday to day with the american people. sanberg is another one she'd be good too. i think it takes a woman. >> absolutely. we've seen that theme. you know, i said that barney frank, but i think jack lew is going to do it. another game, chief of staff. >> tony veragosa. >> joe said deval patrick. i said the u.s. attorney in new york. i actually think in the end eric holder is going to stick around. i don't think he's going anywhere right now. this of course should be a guide for your own draft that i'm sure is coming up in your own home. joe williams, thank you so much for being here, christine

pelosi, thank you for coming in and playing. it's a little silly. we are fighting for the right for all americans to vote, not so silly. we'll that you be and much more with former faacp chairman julian bond. you're watching the war room only only current television.

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how do you feel? now i'm cold. hmm. this is a better choice. new cepacol sensations cools instantly, and has an active ingredient that stays with you long after the lozenge is gone. ahhh. not just a sensation sensational relief. e number one thing that viewers like about the young turks is that we're honest. they know that i'm not bs'ing them with some hidden agenda, actually supporting one party or the other. when the democrats are wrong, they know that i'm going to be the first one to call them out. they can question whether i'm right, but i think that the audience gets that this guy, to the best of his ability, is trying to look out for us. >> just 16 days since election officials called the state of

florida for president obama and republicans there are starting to reveal the dirty tricks they placed. charlie crist told the palm beach post that there was a coordinated effort by governor rick scott and others to suppress the democratic vote. former florida republican party chairman jim gear said: >> at said: >> even as it becomes clear the voter discrimination is still a very real problem in parts of this country. the supreme court will hear arguments about getting rid of section five of the voting lights act of 1965. the act signed by president johnson said areas with a history of discrimination must get approval for any new voting laws. nine southern states plus

counties in new york, and michigan fall under its jurisdiction. in the case, shelby county v. holder, one alabama county is challenging the law saying it unfairly targets their state. six other signed on. joining me now to discuss is julian bond, the former chairman of the naacp and instrumental in helping get that law passed. it is my absolutely pleasure to welcome you inside the war room. >> my great pleasure to be here. thank you. >> it has to be surreal to you just sitting here listening to a conversation almost 50 years hence about the voting rights act, that in fact people are trying to strip part of the voting rights act. how does that make you feel sitting here? >> a little more than sad, such a great struggle to win the voting rights act. it was thought to be the crown jewel of the civil rights movement, the one piece of

legislation we could not have done without done enormous good and faces the prospect of being tossed out. it's terrible. >> what has to happen here? we talk about, you know, the idea that ok, there are some states, different parts of this voting rights act that some people in some states seem to think puts an undue burden on them. it's because of the way they behaved in the 1960's that nobody trusted them, you look at the same states in 2012 and the things they are trying to do among other states, especially these states. how important is it to protect this part of the voting rights act? nobody is saying let's get rid of the entire act. >> it's very important. these are the states that committed the crimes that kept black people from the polls by fair means and fouls did everything they could to keep black people from vote. they have a history of having done so and should expect a

history of being told by the federal government that they can't do it anymore. >> chief justice john roberts talking about the role of the courts in this, we don't have a tape of it. things have changed in the south. >> julian, can you respond to what the chief justice it is. >> i'm holding in my hand a list 16 pages of 102 examples of alabama being told that it can't do the things it said, 102 times since the voting rights act became law alabama has had to be told by the department of justice that it has behaved badly, discriminated against people of color and it needs to stop it. justice roberts is apparently not familiar with this, doesn't know the vast record the

congress apassed the last time the voting rights act was extended. i hope he learns about it before this case comes to trial in this courtroom. >> those are the kind of things that he's going to hear. if it comes to the courtroom in a way is there a benefit to have it make it to the supreme court so americans can once again be reminded of the importance of this act. >> you like to hope. this is very much like the health act. the question is here not whether or not the act ought to do these things but whether congress had the power to do these things. the question with the health act was whether or not congress had the right to mandate a health policy for the whole united states. justice roberts voted yes then, let's hope he votes yes now and takes the four votes he brought with him with him. >> that's what we talked about so much during the election to why you vote for a president even if you're not thrilled with him. the president is the only person who can leave an indelible footprint with the supreme court justice. if this makes it to the supreme

court, what kind of backing do you think something that is going to strip the voting rights act of some of its power is going to have. where's is going to come from, governors? people? >> well, it culls from the power to strip the voting rights act comes from other states. all the states in the south that have been subject to it and states in the north who are sympathetic to them and want to help them along. if it turns out that the voting rights act is thrown out because it only affects a few states, let's have it cover all the states. we now see in the most recent election that it isn't just the southern states that try to suppress black votes, on its others that admit they did all they could just as florida has done to keep black voters from voting. that ought to be criminal in every state. >> the more i listen to you talk about this, the more it seems to me as i've thought all year long

that this is again a cure in search of a disease. you know, i understand, i mean, i'm not talking about the act. i'm saying these people are trying to put those voter i.d. laws in and trying to strip something from the voting rights act. how does that get communicated? you had the movement in the 60's. you had people in the south people marching. what has to happen now? >> you have to have the same kind of uproar, the people power that created some of the united states for the voting rights act, the same kind of activity, the same kind of concern from people, not just southerners or black people, but all americans when people are denied the right to vote. we rose in an unroar then, we need to rise in an uproar now. if this act is thrown out, we're the poorer country for it and our people will suffer because of it. >> we are a richer country because of people like you and so many of your cohorts who

fought so many years ago. it's up to us now to continue that fight. we're privileged to have had you on the show, julian. >> up next after winning a couple of huge victories gay rights groups now have a new foe to deal with, and that foe is complacency. >> thanksgiving is over. fox news has to turn offer the game, get up off the couch and go pull out all of those war on christmas decorations. as if they don't work hard enough during the week.

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>> and you're back inside the war room. the election may be over, but the fight for marriage equality is not. voters in maryland, washington state and maine approved same sex marriage measures and minnesota, a ban on these unions was rejected. it is allowed in six other states plus washington d.c. the supreme court and state legislatures will also take up

the issue and now the human rights campaign. the nation's largest human rights group is running a quarter million dollars ad, hoping to enfluence the outcome. >> it's the dawn of a new day. freedom, justice and human dignity have always guided our journey toward a more perfect union. now across our country, we are standing together for the right of gay and lesbian americans to marry the person they love. >> of course that was mar gone freeman's voice. i think he could get me to do anything he wanted with that voice. joining me now is fred gains welcome inside the war room, fred. i want to ask you fred, i want to play a little more of this ad now and ask you about it. >> with historic victories or marriage, we've delivered a

mandate for full equality. the wind is at our back, but our journey has just begun. >> i want to ask about the wind being at your back. do you feel that now, do you feel that after this election that the wind is finally at your back? i know a lot of people i speak to. it's only anecdotal but a lot of people feel this is inevitable and this is what america is going to look like. >> there is two ways basically to answer the question. we've come an awful long way in the 44 years since stonewall right, but really, the hard work, the hard miles are still ahead of us, in spite of the fact that we have marriage equality in nine states and the district of columbia, the truth is you can still be fired based on your sexual orientation or gender identity. there is really sparse relationship recognition or the recognition of gay and lesbian families across this country. so while we definitely have

amazing victories to celebrate coming out of election day this year, the truth is that we have an awful long journey ahead of us. the one point i would definitely agree with you and i think there is absolute evidence of this fact is that really marriage equality, it is a question of when and no longer if in this country. >> yeah, and that's what i feel, but, you know, i can't help but think we just had julian bond on the show, he was fighting 50 years ago for the right to vote and here they are the supreme court hearing that. i understand when you say the fight goes on, we have to keep going and look for all the different protections we can find. when it comes to gay rights, though, you have an entire other party like the civil rights marchers did to convince on the other side. do you see any movement at all? do you see republicans as you were once a republican. i wish i was a republican once. it must be so much fun to say that you left the republican party over an issue especially

over this issue. do you feel some people in your former party are going to start coming around to this? it seems like that has to happen in order for it to become the extreme. >> i think it's important to distinct between party leadership and mainstream republicans. i feel the republican party left me. i didn't feel like i left the republican party behind. i also think it's important to extinguishdistinguish between every day republicans and the hierarchy party. there are very few ideological differences on marriage equality. all walks of life view it as a fundamental issue of basic fairness and integrity that basically all americans should be treated the same way. the problem, michael is that that message has not yet reached capitol hill.

that beautiful building behind me, the republican party leadership has not gotten the memo that its own mainstream across this country have really come to accept the basic premise that all americans should be treated equally. i think the unfortunate reality is that until the party leadership understands that that's the way in which all americans are headed, and especially younger americans and women, the future of that party, i think the republican party is really going to be left behind on this issue. >> yeah, i mean i have to agree with you. i want to look at the human rights campaign and what they gave to candidates this year. of course, candidates that are going to help support their agenda this sort of progressive civil rights agenda, and it's this year they contributed $695,000 to democrats and just $17,000 to republicans. do you sort of see a day coming where there are republicans that you are going to be jumping behind to give money to? >> yeah, i mean, look, we fight

for the day when the issue of lesbian, gay buy sexual and transgender rights are not divided by party affiliation. we look forward to the day when really, there is absolutely no difference in between the two mitt well parties on the very simple and straight forward notion that all americans irrespective of their sexual orientation or sexual identify should be treated equally. that's among the american values. it's not a republican or conservative value it's really a value that all of us should agree on. yes, we are, you know, we really look forward to the day when those numbers can be completely different, and when we get to support candidates from all political parties and persuasions that are really supportive of our issues. >> yeah, i would suspect by the time those numbers are completely different and turned

around one won't need the human rights campaign anymore. thanks for being with us, the human rights campaign. >> a time of year when we all rub our eyes in disbelief i guess continue running our ice. everything we see hear, smell or touch will have christmas written all over it, and yet fox news will tell us that somehow christmas is the endangered speaks cease of holidays. that story is next right here in the war room. to me now? you know the kind of guys that do reverse mortgage commercials? those types are coming on to me all the time now. (vo) she gets the comedians laughing and the thinkers thinking. >>ok, so there's wiggle room in the ten commandments, that's what you're saying. you would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. >>absolutely. >> and so would mitt romney. (vo) she's joy behar. >>and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking?

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>> you're energized the war room. we don't like war but we do like anything that uses war terminology especially when it comes to politics or craziness. first up, the war on christmas. the fox nation site already that its war on christmas section in fighting shape. headlines like a gender neutral christmas? a swedish toys are us store are trying to be gender neutral showing a boy playing with a doll and a girl a toy gun. oh, my god how will we survive? i guess this is "news" because scandinavia is so close to the north pole and santa claus lives there and a traditional marriage with a man woman and some elves. you can click over to the fox

news opinion section with news on the war on people like me, men, the author of how to choose a husband explains this battle of the sexes. if men today are slackers and retreating from marriage en masse: >> i'd like to call a truce on both a very real war on women and this very odd war on men. after all, this is a holiday season when all genders and people should come together to celebrate life and plat our attack on santa. we turn to media matters senior fellow coming to us tonight from new york city. eric, welcome back inside the the war room. >> thanks for having me. >> eric, fox news just, they are

at christmas time the gift that keeps on giving. do they -- what kind of currency do they get out of the war on christmas? who's that resonating with at this point? >> yeah, it seems to have diminishing returns. bill o'reilly really started this almost a decade ago. back then, they could actually find 10 or 15 news clippings from the united states. they didn't have to go to scandinavian catalog where there was debate about the role of government and christmas displays and were public schools going to be putting on religious pageants and things like that. most of that controversy has evaporated. every year, they have fewer and fewer actual news clip to say rally around, but they're determined. look, this is part of the war culture that they have, you know democrats liberals are

secularists, trying to drive religion out of the american life. we don't know what religion obama is, christian muslim. as you pointed out with your examples, there's no they're there, but they feel they to have fill the hours with something p.m. they've got their christmas ornaments packed away, they have to make good with what they have. >> of course, they can't blame everything on barack obama, so they have to go in another direction when it comes to christmas. >> you know. >> yeah, go ahead. >> i was just going to say there is an interesting debate about the role christmas has in our culture now and the corps rottization of it and the fact that big business that sort of turned it into a consumer extravaganza. on thanksgiving, lots of retail workers were forced to work on a family holiday. there's a logical place you can take this discussion, but fox

news can't attack big business. it can't attack corporate culture, so it's got to be somehow democrats are ruining the holiday. >> i was going to say it's sort of war on exploitation that other people should be having against those people. that's not going to happen. that's not what fax is after. fox loves war of any kind. today, rich was talking. >> for 90 seconds. >> it was a big i promise you're going to be on this show longer than he. let's watch. >> when i see this focus on what was essentially a small firefight, it's impossible to figure out what happens in them sometimes. second, i think that the emphasis on benghazi has been extremely political partly because fox was operating as a wing of the republican party. >> all right tom ricks thanks very much for joining us today. >> that was fantastic.

i'm almost tempted to do that as a gag with you but i'm not going to. it was a short interview, also a very serious thing. he comes on there and he tells the truth to fox news, who has no interest in the truth. when will the back lash come to fox news. do you have any idea if it will come and if so, when? >> i mean they've got a dedicated audience, two or 3 million people are going to watch whatever lies they tell. this was very telling the fox bubble being punctured. if you watch fox news, 90% of their guests are on staff. even the people who come in to talk about military or politics, everyone knows what everyone's going to say. this was very rare, they sort of leeched out to a pulitzer prize winning journalist and he told the truth said fox hob hyping the benghazi story politicizing

it and was a wing of the republican party. he just had the guts to do it on fox news. once someone tell little the truth on fox news, your interview is over and as tom ricks told the new york times a fox news staffer told him he had been rude afterwards. so this is what happens when the fox bubble gets punctured by someone of national stature a national security expert who called fox news out for this benghazi madness they've pushed for 10 weeks now. >> it was so much fun to watch it. i understand when you get the kind of predictions like dick morris gives you you're going to have to pay for information like that. i totally understand where they're coming from. you hear him go to "the new york times." does fox ever answer to these events or incidents? >> no, there was no comment today. i guarantee with you, there will be no mention of this ever on

fox news. it was flushed down the memory hole. it never happened. everyone saw it, and everyone commented on it, and it's about time more and more high profile journalists have the nerve to say that fox news is operating as an arm of the republican party and this benghazi madness is disgraceful what fox has done to a very important issue. >> eric puller, thank you for coming in here. we will always be patient with the truth in the war room. thanks again from new york. >> up next, the in straw poll. it has a long history of embarrassing the republican party, but then again so do a lot of things. right after the break. people when i'm upset. they're doing this this corruption based on corruption based on corruption. >>that's an understatement, eliot.

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jennifer speaks truth to power. >>the bottom line is we need an amendment. >>now it's your turn. connect with "the war room" jennifer granholm. >>it's a call to arms. make your voice heard. >> since 19 seventies nine, the ames straw poll has been held. it's best known for its mixed results. while it sometimes predicts who gets the nomination, pat robertson won, mitt romney claimed the straw poll and last year michele bachmann took the poll. some want to end the poll. some said it outlived its

usefulness. today, the right wing paper of record the national review child in. the editor said that: >> so, once again republicans are concerned about how their party looks not what their party stands for. they're fine having these crazy candidates they just don't like that ames shows how crazy they are. typical republican reaction to the election, cosmetic changes rather than dealing with the underlying problems. good luck with that, guys, and i mean guys. speaking of typical republican tactic, done no 1999 they started requiring voters to show i.d. to prove that they lived in iowa? before that, there was a lot of wait for it -- voter fraud. so that's where they got the idea for voter i.d. they aren't